In Queensland, it was common for many decades that a standard residential contract specified that settlement would occur 30 days after the contract date.

It was do-able, and still is do-able, but it is always a real rush to the finish line and sometimes, despite everyone's best efforts, extensions are required.

Delays can arise when a buyer or seller takes longer to do things than they should, due to illness of a party, building and pest inspectors' reports disclose issues that require rectification, finance approval takes longer than anticipated, or law firms have delays with the necessary paperwork or steps required.

The main driver of delays though in the vast majority of cases is the lender not being ready to settle, especially since COVID-19. If your conveyancer does not have the money or the mortgage discharge available, settlement can't happen.

It's vitally important that, if entering into a 30 day contract, you make sure all the parties, including any lenders, will be ready to settle in that time frame.

Failure to settle in time or meet a contract condition by its due date is a serious issue and can result in being in breach of contract, leaving the parties exposed to default actions including things such as paying additional fees for both parties, termination of contract, forfeiture of the deposit and being sued for costs and damages.

A more common time frame to settlement we're seeing estate agents inserting in contracts is 42 days (6 weeks or thereabouts).

The time frames set in contracts for finance, building and pest due dates and settlement dates are usually negotiated by the estate agent between the parties. Talk to your agent, your bank and any other interested parties before you sign the contract to make sure the time frames are reasonable for your circumstances.

This is a perfect reason to go through the contract with us before you sign it.